Environmental Due Diligence:

When deciding to invest or divest from a property, unforeseen environmental liabilities can make or break a deal, and have devastating financial repercussions. Before embarking on any new property venture, environmental due diligence is a necessary first step that ultimately protects you and your organization. At APES we understand that accelerated timelines and unexpected hurdles often come hand in hand with real estate projects and we work tirelessly to make this phase of your project run as smoothly as possible. By attaining an in-depth understanding of your project goals and timelines from the outset, APES ensures we are on the same page to then have our experts efficiently and swiftly navigate the intricacies of due diligence and provide thorough environmental site assessments. With thorough and detailed environmental site assessments, our professionals are able to determine the right approach to complete your project on time and cost effectively. 

Preliminary Environmental Database Review

In the initial stages of property transactions, a Preliminary Environmental Database Review can be a low cost first step in determining if a property carries more risk than you are willing to take on. With a Preliminary Environmental Database Review, APES professionals will review available environmental databases and provide a quick overview of the findings to help you quickly determine whether a property has potentially costly impacts to site resources or whether  a more in depth environmental assessment may be warranted. If the findings of the Preliminary Environmental Database Review prompt a more in depth assessment, the initial cost can be rolled into the additional assessment to reduce overall costs. 

The environmental risk of the subject site is evaluated through a review of records and pertinent information that may include:

• Environmental Database Report

• State Water Resources Control Board Online Database Review

Environmental Desktop Report

An Environmental Desktop Report is a step further than the Preliminary Environmental Database Review. The Environmental Desktop Report is also a limited-scope assessment that does not include a visit by an APES environmental consultant to the subject property and is often used as a cost-effective initial screen of a property to determine the potential for environmental liability at the site. If potential liabilities are discovered, such as contamination from nearby underground storage tanks or historic property use, then often the evaluation is often elevated to a more comprehensive report such as the Phase I ESA. As with the Preliminary Environmental Database Review, the cost of the initial report can be rolled into the Phase I ESA.

The environmental risk of the subject site is evaluated through a review of records and pertinent information that may include:

• Environmental Database Report

• State Water Resources Control Board Online Database Review

• Government records (a database search and/or other regulatory records)

• Historical records such as Sanborn fire insurance maps, city directories, aerial photos, and topographic maps

• Environmental questionnaires

Transaction Screen Assessment (TSA)

A Transaction Screen Assessment (TSA), also called Transaction Screen Process Report (TSP) or Environmental Transaction Screen, is essentially a scaled down version of a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment. The scope of work in a Transaction Screen includes a site reconnaissance visit, regulatory records review, site operator/owner questionnaires, and limited historical research. The Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA), and the less comprehensive Transaction Screen Assessment, are the only other environmental due diligence products that are governed by an ASTM Standard Practice. The ASTM standard for the Transaction Screen is 1528-06 Standard Practice for Limited Environmental Due Diligence: Transaction Screen Process. Unlike the Phase I ESA, however, the Transaction Screen does not meet the requirements of the EPA’s All Appropriate Inquiry and will not offer the user protection from CERCLA liability.

Phase I:

Phase I ESAs are the standard means by which lending agencies, developers, and property owners screen a property for environmental risks and determine whether further investigation is warranted. The APES team has completed hundreds of Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) for commercial, mixed-use, agricultural, and industrial properties all across California.  Our assessments conform to the American Society for Testing and Materials’ (ASTM) standards for Phase I and Phase II ESAs, the US EPA’s All Appropriate Inquiries guidance for Environmental Site Assessments, as well as the rigorous environmental standards of all the major lenders.  

The purpose of a Phase I ESA is to provide a professional opinion regarding environmental risk conditions at a property, including both the current and historical activities at the property as well as any potential impacts to the site’s resources from documented environmental releases in the surrounding area. The environmental professional provides opinions on each of the conditions identified during the research phase. These opinions of potential risk fall into three categories, as laid out by ASTM:

• Recognized Environmental Conditions (REC)

• Controlled Recognized Environmental Conditions (CREC)

• Historical Recognized Environmental Conditions (HREC)

The term “recognized environmental conditions'' or REC, is defined as “the presence or likely presence of any hazardous substances or petroleum products in, on, or at a property: (1) due to release to the environment; (2) under conditions indicative of a release to the environment; or (3) under conditions that pose a material threat of a future release to the environment. De minimis conditions are not recognized environmental conditions.” (ASTM Standard E-1527 13). 

To provide a thorough Phase I ESA, APES personnel conduct the following services:

• Historical Database search of on-site and vicinity land uses. 

• Research of publicly available records with Local, County, and State agencies.

• Interviews with parties knowledgeable about the property’s past.

• Site Reconnaissance and Investigation.

• A professional technical report identifying and explaining any potential Recognized Environmental Conditions

Combined Assessments

In the event that a prospective buyer, property owner, or APES associate has some knowledge or observes indications of a potential release of petroleum products or hazardous materials to soil or groundwater that likely impacts the property, then sometimes proceeding directly to completing a combined Phase I/II assessment may be warranted. In these cases, the process is expedited which can save valuable time when dealing with tight Escrow deadlines.